Breaking Through the Pass

"Master."

At this moment, the steward delivered an antique box.

The box opened to reveal ten round medicinal pills, a fresh, herbal fragrance permeating the air.

These were precisely the Five Elements Pill.

Clearly, Jiang Sihai had sent someone to purchase the Five Elements Pill first thing in the morning.

"Chen'er, from now on, just focus on your cultivation. You don't need to worry about resources or money."

Jiang Sihai handed the pills to Jiang Chen, having made his decision.

Even if it meant severing ties with the clan, he would spare no effort to nurture Jiang Chen.

"Thank you, Father."

Jiang Chen took the pills and returned to his small courtyard.

If I want a constant supply of resources, relying solely on family support won't be enough.

He opened the bottle, swallowed a pill, and as he waited for the medicinal power to take effect, Jiang Chen pondered to himself.

At this stage, the family's resources were still sufficient, but once he stepped into the True Martial Realm, the family would likely find themselves stretched thin.

Therefore, he had to find a way to make money himself.

As for the clan, he held no hope.

Jiang Xuan was not only a descendant of the clan elders' lineage, but his aptitude was also better than his own; even if he displayed extraordinary talent, the clan would never support him.

It remained the same truth: as long as people are involved, there will be selfishness.

Thus, matters of wealth and resources had to rely on himself.

"Let's reach the second stage of Blood and Qi first."

Before long, the gentle medicinal power nourished his five internal organs, and Jiang Chen began to practice his fist techniques in the courtyard.

His movements were smooth and fluid; at a glance, it looked as if a white ape had truly possessed him.

Every time he performed the fist technique, his five internal organs were tempered once, and the medicinal power of the Five Elements Pill would be consumed to nourish them accordingly.

This formed a positive cycle.

If the fist technique were not perfected, the tempering effect on the five internal organs would weaken, and the consumption of the Five Elements Pill's medicinal power would also decrease.

From this, one could see just how terrifying the "Eternal Perfection" of the Myriad Dao Chart truly was.

In the days that followed, Jiang Chen did not go to the Martial Arts Hall, staying home to cultivate instead.

For others, going to the Martial Arts Hall meant receiving guidance, but he had no such need.

The enlightenment boost from the Myriad Dao Chart was the best teacher.

Therefore, he planned to break through to the second stage of Blood and Qi before returning to the Martial Arts Hall.

Time slipped away quietly.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

At the end of the Hour of the Bo, the stars and moon shone together.

BOOM!

Jiang Chen, who had been focused on practicing his fist techniques, suddenly paused.

Immediately following, his martial Blood and Qi surged like boiling water, and a powerful aura radiated from his pores.

"Finally, a breakthrough!"

Jiang Chen's expression was invigorated.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Technique: White Ape Fist · Perfection]

[Cultivation: Blood and Qi Second Stage · Early Phase 1%]

[Martial Arts: Stone Moving Method · Perfection]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, the cultivation column had changed, officially stepping into the second stage of Blood and Qi.

"Essence of the five internal organs!"

Looking inward with his mind, Jiang Chen could clearly see wisps of extremely pure energy overflowing from his five internal organs, merging into his martial Blood and Qi.

After fusing with that pure energy, his martial Blood and Qi began to become refined, with impurities being expelled from time to time.

This was the path of cultivation for the second stage of Blood and Qi.

When the total volume of Blood and Qi could no longer be increased, one had to let the essence of the five internal organs merge into the Blood and Qi, thereby causing a qualitative change.

"Time to test the power!"

Jiang Chen walked up to the ancient tree and threw a punch, his Qi and Blood erupting.

With a loud bang.

A clearly visible fist print appeared on the ancient tree.

The punch was four inches deep!

Four hundred pounds of force!

Bang, bang, bang...

Following this, Jiang Chen circled the ancient tree, unleashing a rapid barrage of strikes.

He threw over a hundred punches in succession, only stopping when his Qi and Blood were exhausted.

"To have such a massive boost from the first transformation..."

Looking at his only slightly reddened fists, a smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face.

Beyond the increase in force, his reflexes, speed, defense, and more had all been strengthened; it could be called an all-encompassing transformation.

Now, let alone dealing with ordinary adults, even if he were to face a martial artist at the peak of the first of the Three Qi and Blood Gates, he could easily crush several of them.

This is the Martial Dao.

Each realm is a world of its own!

"Stance training."

After a good while, Jiang Chen reined in his emotions and began stance training to recover his Qi, Blood, and stamina.

The point remained the same.

Whether it was the first or second of the Three Qi and Blood Gates, both were simply too weak.

He had to step into the True Martial Realm as quickly as possible to break through his current predicament.

If he could not secure a seat at the table before the new order in the prefecture city was established, he would become nothing more than fish on a chopping block.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Once his stamina and Qi and Blood had recovered, Jiang Chen continued to practice the White Ape Fist.

Under the moonlight, his figure darted and shifted like a nimble ape; the wind from his fists was low and thunderous, yet his footwork was remarkably light, possessing an indescribable beauty.

Time slipped by until the end of the Zi hour, the night breeze turning slightly cold.

"Haa!"

Steaming with heat, Jiang Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

[Cultivation: Second of the Three Qi and Blood Gates · Early Stage 1%]

As he withdrew his fists and stood upright, Jiang Chen turned his focus inward.

On the Myriad Dao Chart, his cultivation had only increased by 1%.

Although he had long realized that refining the essence of the five viscera was extremely difficult.

He still hadn't expected that even with the medicinal power of the Five Elements Pill, he would only improve by 1% in an hour.

If he calculated based on eight hours of practice per day, he could only improve by 8% daily.

In other words.

It would take him nearly forty days to reach the peak of the second of the Three Qi and Blood Gates?

Compared to the first of the Three Qi and Blood Gates, which he perfected in three or four days, this was nearly ten times harder.

"At this speed, stepping into the True Martial Realm by the end of the year shouldn't be a problem, but..."

Jiang Chen wiped away his sweat, his mind churning with thoughts.

Crossing the second of the Three Qi and Blood Gates in just over a month.

Then, breaking through the third of the Three Qi and Blood Gates and entering the True Martial Realm within the remaining few months naturally wouldn't be difficult.

However, this speed was still too slow.

Whether he wanted to be recruited by a Martial Arts Hall or join the City Guard, he had to shorten the time it took to reach the True Martial Realm.

Otherwise, with his ordinary aptitude, it would be difficult to receive any attention.

When major factions cultivate martial artists, the first thing they value is potential.

And potential is inextricably linked to one's innate bone structure.

If he wanted to be valued, he had to display a sufficiently astonishing cultivation speed.

"Since my bone structure cannot be changed, there are only two paths I can take."

Soon, Jiang Chen had an idea.

The first of these two paths was to extend his training time.

In the past, he would rest every day once he reached the Zi hour.

But from now on, he would extend his training time by two or three hours.

With a martial artist's physical constitution, three or four hours of sleep a day is sufficient.

The second path is cultivation resources.

Since there are high-grade auxiliary secret medicines like Blood Ginseng Powder for the first stage of Blood Qi.

Then, besides the Five Elements Pill, there should be even stronger secret medicines for the second stage of Blood Qi; it is merely a matter of price.

Just like that, he did not end his cultivation until the hour of the Ox, when the sound of the night watchman's gong arrived.

[Cultivation: Second Stage of Blood Qi · Early Phase 3%]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, his cultivation had increased by 2% as expected, and his martial path Blood Qi was becoming increasingly refined.

Time to sleep.

After fetching water for a shower, Jiang Chen returned to his room to sleep.

Three hours passed.

At the beginning of the hour of the Rabbit, while the sky was still dim, he rolled over and got out of bed.

Sleeping at the hour of the Ox and rising at the hour of the Rabbit.

In this way, his daily cultivation time could be extended to eleven hours.

With a 1% increase per hour, his cultivation progress could reach 11% per day.

[Cultivation: Second Stage of Blood Qi · Early Phase 4%]

An hour later, as the sky gradually turned pale, Jiang Chen retracted his fists and straightened his posture.

After a brief rest, he went to eat breakfast.

The practice of White Ape Fist consumes a massive amount of physical strength.

If not for the nourishment of the Five Elements Pill's medicinal power, he would have to eat to replenish himself after every hour of cultivation.

"Chen'er, why are you up so early today?"

Having received the news, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun arrived.

"Father, Mother, I have broken through."

Jiang Chen, who was busy wolfing down his food, revealed the news.

"Broken through?!"

"The second stage of Blood Qi?!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Jiang Sihai and Lin Shuyun were stunned, then ecstatic.

Ten days ago, Jiang Chen had just returned from the Martial Arts Hall.

In a mere ten days, he had actually stepped into the second stage of Blood Qi?!

Is the second stage of Blood Qi so easy to break through?

If they remembered correctly, it had taken Jiang Xuan quite a bit of time to break through back then.

One must know, Jiang Xuan possessed medium-grade aptitude.

Does this mean Jiang Chen's talent is no worse than Jiang Xuan's?

Or perhaps even stronger?